Smartcard manufacturing plant opens in Lagos

Europay, MasterCard and Visa

from AUGUSTINE OSAYANDE in Abuja, NigeriaABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE first world-class Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-certified smartcard manufacturing plant in Sub-Sahara has been commissioned in Lagos.

A brainchild of Africa SecureID, a pioneering indigenous company in the smart card supply and personalisation space that is 100 percent Nigerian owned with a 95percent Nigerian workforce, it has an annual production capacity of 200 million cards.

Minister of Communication Technology, Dr Omobola Johnson, at commissioning described the plant as one of the most sophisticated smartcard production plants in Africa.

Johnson said smartcards are importance to digital existence and they are becoming part of personal and corporate staple.

“Smartcards with embedded chips are key to our digital existence. Consider the everyday uses to which we put various SIM cards, biometric identity cards, debit and credit cards used in the finance industry. Increasingly they are becoming part of our personal and corporate staple,” Johnson said.

She said preliminary estimates indicate that there are currently about 150 million active SIM cards, 110 million biometric ID cards and 15 million credit and debit cards in Nigeria.

“As more financial inclusion schemes, requiring more bank cards are rolled out and the different states roll out ID projects, these numbers are expected to experience double-digit growth,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that the SecureID project was conceived in collaboration with acclaimed leaders in the global smart card industry and its products include SIM cards for the telecommunications sector, debit and credit cards for the financial sector and high security E-ID polycarbonate cards for the most sensitive identification needs.